It was amazing how distracted Willow could get during such a boring class as Divination. She hadn't even noticed that she'd earned four points for he house! Meh. However, after a long while, she thought she listened Professor St. Toussaint asking about tea leaves, so she raised her hand quickly, as she blinked furiously trying to focus.

"Well, if the tea leaves are dispersed, it represents something good. A good omen", chewing on her lip, the third year added, "But if it is all dense and like really thick, it means the complete opposite, which would be that something bad is going to happen".

For the first time Willow was happy that she'd actually read the book before coming, because it meant that she could earn points by answering questions.

Sapphire put her hand up and answered "it means that something bad is going to happen it is an omen"

Melinda had been thinking about that answer for a long time, a really long one. As soon as she thought she had the answer, she raised her hand high enough. "If the tea leaves are dispersed, the reading represents a good omen, but if there is a dense, thick formation, it means the opposite, a bad omen on this case." She said, hoping it would be the correct answer.

"Very good. Two points." She gave the Ravenclaw student a nod.

"Yes. Two points."

"Exactly. Two points."

"Yes, and a good example as well. Three points."

"Very good answer, Evangeline. Three points."

"Two points. And, if you keep making that face someone is going to jinx you and it will stay that way, cheri!" The Professor said smiling brightly and reminding the Prefect to sit on it, lest her hand be forced to act...less professionally.

"Two points."

"Excellent, Regina. Two points."

"Good work, Ana. Two points."

"Not quite, exactly, ladies. It has to do with negative fortunes and positive fortunes. As has been mentioned; an ill omen can be detected by the prescense of thick leave formations. If they are all clumped together in other words."

"The dense area cannot be positive, no. This is because the leaves denote the negative sides of a fortune and are the only material capable of altering density. The teacup, of course, cannot be said to form more thickly or thinly. Unless, of course you transfigure it, but that would be cheating. Two points, Celandine."


"Alright, Ladies. Moving on." St. Toussaint announced as she took a drink from her cup at last, savouring the taste of it. The Catnip tea that the Slytherin Prefect had given her her first day on the job. "Before we begin the reading their is one more step. Take your teaspoons and stir the tea, remembering to do so left to right and turn your teacup over onto the saucer to drain the last of the liquid. Most of your tea leaves will stick to the bottom of your cup and form their cryptic shapes." The Professor took another drink from her cup and drained all but about a teaspoon of her tea, then gave the remains three quick little stirrings before plopping the cup upide down onto it's saucer.

"While we're waiting for the tea to drain, who can explain how we measure time in tea leaf readings?"

Cassandra forced a smile. She took her spoon and stirred her tea from left to right, sipped her tea. She then turned her teacup over onto the saucer as the professor instructed, draining the liquid.

She shot her hand up in the air. "It's where on the cup the drags have settled. The rim section of the tea cup represents this moment in time. The middle section of the tea cup represents the near future -- usually no more than a fortnight. The base section of your tea cup represents further away in time."

Sabrina turned her tea in a left to right motion before tipping it over onto her saucer, making sure not to spill any on Via. She looked through her book trying to find the answer to the professor's question and then raised her hand. "The handle of our cups is always represented as the day that we do the actual reading, and then we read the cup clockwise. The cup is divided like a clock into twelve sections, each one representing a month; just like on a clock the 6th month section is directly opposite the handle, which must always be facing the reader. It is believed that images facing anticlockwise in the cup represent departure while if the image is facing clockwise it sigifys that the person who's leaves are being read is moving towards the occurrence. When reading the leaves it is also important to remember that the leaves near the brim of the cup are more important then those near the bottom."

Ella knew the answer from others. Well it's all in the game. She took her tea cup and followed Professors instructions, finally turned the cup over the saucer. But her hand raised to tell the next answer, "The rim refers to now and the descending imaginary line refers to the future. The further you get from the rim, the further in the future you go. The bottom of the cup refers to the more distant future".

Celandine stirred her tea as directed and upended her teacup onto the saucer.

raising her hand she answered, "Professor, The rim of the cup represents recent events and the closer to the bottom of the cup the furthur away in time the events are- The distance around from the handle indicates how close or far away in time also. And the leaves to the right of the handle can represent the future and those to the right, the past."

Kaika followed the Professor directions neatly, or at least as neatly as she could manage, and raised her hand, "The closer the symbol is to the rim of the cup, the closer you are in time; the closer to the bottom of the cup, the farther backward or forward in time" she said, looking back at the cups.

Steelsheen watched the Professor closely, mimicking the way she stirred the tea and flipping the cup upside down. As she jotted down a few more notes, she heard the Professor's next question. She raised her hand again and replied "Dregs closer to the rim represent the immediate future, while those at the cup's bottom indicate the far future. Also some consider the position of the images relative to the cup handle; for example those shapes closest to the handle rim means they are events that will happen in the near future to the drinker or the drinker's family and friends, while shapes further from the handle and deeper into the cup means that they occur farther into the future and outside of the drinker's acquaintances."

Astrid did as she was instructed and stirred her tea from left to right. Then she turned her teacup over onto the saucer to drain the remaining liquid.

While she waited for the teacup to finishing draining, she raised her hand to say,

"Professor, in addition to saying that the present time is located nearest to you and the future/past is further away, I also heard this explanation given to my great Aunt Tessie.

She was told to examine the cup clockwise to predict events by months (and up to a year) into the future. Start at the handle of the teacup; it represents the time and place of the reading. Hold the cup in your left hand, as if you were about to drink from it, and imagine a line across the bottom of the cup from the handle to the opposite side. This opposing side will indicate six months into the future. The top of the cup, or the farthest part of the cup above this line, indicates three months into the future and the part furthest to the bottom indicates nine months ahead. An easy way to visualize this is to imagine a clock placed over the cup. The handle, or nine o’clock, represents now, the top, or twelve o’clock, represents three months into the future, the opposing side, or three o’clock, represents six months into the future, and the bottom, six o’clock, represents nine months into the future. Lastly, if something is located between any of these sections, assign a month to it the same way you would an hour on a clock. For example, if a symbol is halfway between twelve o’clock, or three months, and three o’clock, or six months, it will happen about four and half months into the future."

Okay. This is going well so far., Evangeline thought as she stirred the tea like Touissant had indicated. Left to right and turn the cup over onto the saucer to drain the last of the liquid. As she did so, the teacher asked another question and she rose her hand on the air. "The placement of the symbol within the cup indicates the time frame - the closer to the rim, the more immediate the event,the closer to the bottom of the cup, the farther backward or forward in time. The handle often represents 'home' or proximity and nearness. A symbol opposite the handle would be more distant to the drinker than one close by." She said.

Allie did what the professor said, ans stirred the tea from eft to right, then drained it.
Then, she reaised her hand to answer the next question.

"Where the symbol is in the cup, tells you when it will happen."
she said. "The rim of the Cup represents recent events. Leaves lying closer to the bottom of the Cup indicate events that are more distant in time. The very bottom of the Cup represents misfortunes.Leaves that lie to the right of the handle indicate the future, and leaves to the left of the handle indicate the past.The further away the leaves lie from the handle, the further away the events are in either time or even physical distance."

Amelia frowned as the Professor told her that her and Ella's answers weren't exactly correct. Not that she cared, since divinations was far from her specialty. She'd rather something that was more concrete like arithmancy or transfiguration; even potions still was solid, but allowed some creativity.

Sighing, she refused to be discouraged though or outdone by a certain Slytherin Prefect. Picking her teaspoon up, she stirred the remaining tea as directed: left to right and then... wait, what!?! Turn it over? But the liquid will go all over!

This was not going to end well, but she had to do it... right?

Closing her eyes, she reached her hands to form a light grip on the cup and turned it over. Quickly. Onto the saucer.

Biting her lip, the Hufflepuff nervously opened her eyes to find that it was perfect! Not a drop of liquid on the table! She did it!! Yay!

Thrilled with finally being able to turn the teacup over without spilling any liquid, she raised her hand enthusiastically to answer the question. "We measure time in tea leaf readings based on where the leaves have settled on the cup. The rim section indicates the present moment in time. The middle represents the near future - usually no longer than one or two nights ahead. The base will indicate the future - far away in time."

Melinda did what the professor indicated them to do. She stirred the tea, carefullly from left to right, then turned her cup over to the saucer, to drain the liquid. As soon as she turned the tea cup to see if there were cryptic forms on the bottom of it. She saw a heart? was it a heart? When she heard the question from the professor, she turned the page right on time to read and raise her hand. She had not memorized it well but yet closed her book to train her memory this time. "The time frame can be told this way, the closer to the rim, the more immediate the event. The handle often represents 'home' or proximity and nearness. A symbol opposite the handle would be more distant to the seeker than one close by." She said, nodding to herself, since she remembered, something else.

Willow stirred the tea very carefully, from left to right, before turning her cup over to the saucer, to make sure that all the liquid of it was gone.

Of course she had done all these with a expression on her face that only meant one thing; she was bored. Very bored.

"It all depends on how close to the rim the leaf have settled", the third year said, with her hand in the air "If they are really close, it means immediate future. If they are in the bottom of the cup, it means that whatever is stored for you, is far away in time. And when they are on the middle... It means near future".

Sapphire raised her hand and answered

"We measure time in tea leaf readings based on where the leaves have settled on the cup.If they are really close, it means immediate future the further away it is from the rim it means that it might happen in the future"


Sapphire smiled "sorry wanted to answer those questions my name is Sapphire O'grady, pleased to meet you Marra"

"Exactly the answer I was looking for. Three points." St. Toussaint said, warming again towards the Slytherin Prefect. Maybe she had a glaring problem, but at least she was making it easy to dole out points to Slytherin house. Besides, glaring or any other problems this little lady might've had could surely be remedied. She took another sip from her cup and moved about the classroom as the students put in their answers.

Professor St. Toussaint put down her saucer and had to double check the text. "Yes, but regionally. Generally, it is merely a matter of proximity to the edge of the cup. Though, you do have to face the person for whom you are doing the reading. One point." The Professor let out a cough as she felt an oncomming tickle in her throat.

"Good, Ella! Three points." She turned her teacup towards her mouth and drained the last of the liquid from the brewed conconction, trying to soothe the tickle in her throat, which now became a slightly burning sensation.

"Excellent! Three points." The Professor coughed again.

"Yes." Cough. "Three points." Cough. Cough.

If she were feeling better, she might've wanted to inform the student about handle debate, but decided against elaboration, opting to keep the answers short and simple from this point on.
"Three points." She coughed again and followed up with a laboured and wheezy-sounding inhale.

"Two points."

"Yes." She nodded, as she began to feel a slightly constricting feeling about her lungs and airways.

"Veh...", she coughed. "Very...". Cough. "Very good." The Professor shut her eyes and took a deep, difficult-sounding breath. "Three points."

Professor St. Toussaint felt a terrible burning itch on the back of her hand and moved it behind herself to scratch it upon the textured black lace of her belt. She coughed and covered her mouth with a fist as she did so. "Ameliaaa, three points."

"Three points." The Professor was now wheezing heavily as she headed back to her desk for her asthma potion she kept in her desk drawer at all times. Merlin was she sick of this blasted condition. 'Couldn't even teach a class!', she thought, frustrated with her own health.

"Yes. Very good." She wheezed out. "Three points." The Professor started to feel dizzy and leaned against Willow's desk on her way back to her own desk. It took her a moment, but she was able to regain her composure and make it back towards her drawer. Reaching down to grasp the handle to the drawer which held her medication, she noticed something odd and awful about her hand. Besides being itchy, the backs of them had gotten swollen round mounds upon them. It was no asthmatic attack she was experiencing, but an allergic one.

"Three points." She gave to the last Slytherin to reply.

Staring down at her hands for a closer inspection, the Divination Professor appeared to be turning colour, but not for the lack of oxygen she was getting, rather the pure, oak-aged, full-bodied, slow-distilled anger at 'The Glaring One'. 'That scheming little twerp!' She thought.

"YOU!", After she placed her teacup and saucer on her desk, Terpsichore's arm flew up and her finger pointed straight towards the Slytherin Prefect. "Slipped me a poison!" She hissed. "Detention!!!". Oh, no, this was beyond point deductions. The professor leaned up against her desk and wheezed upsettedly.

Kaika smiled as she took another three points to Hufflepuff but frowned as the Professor started to act strange, there was something wrong with her.

Her eyes grew wide as Professor St. Toussaint pointed her finger at the Slytherin Prefect, the word 'poison' remained in her head. "Prof-Professor? Are you alright?" Kaika asked, unsure of what just happened.

Amelia smiled as the Professor gave her three points; another three points towards Hufflepuff's point total. But there was something wrong with the professor as she responded to each of the students; she just didn't seem right at all.

Then the next thing she knew, Professor St Toussaint was pointing at the Slytherin Prefect and ... gave her detention!? What the heck was happening? Poison. She rolled her eyes and sighed, wishing she had deducted points; Trel would have died. Then again, she'll probably die from having a detention.

She heard Kaika's question, who seemed unsure of what was going on, and then looked over herself to see the Professor leaning against her desk. "Professor?" she asked, wanting to stand up and go to her side, but didn't. Not without permission. "Can I get you something? A glass of water perhaps?"

Allie was happy earning points for Gryffindor.
She quickly realized something was wrong, seeing the professor point to the Slytherin prefect, and say something about poision, through her coughing.
"Professor? Are you allright?" she asked. What a stupid question, obviously something was wrong.
"Do you want me to get you something?" she asked, not knowing what else to do.

Steelsheen smiled as the Professor acknowledged her answer, but furrowed her brow as she noticed the Professor starting to cough and increasingly looking unwell. She nearly jumped in her seat as the Divinations Professor exploded and pointed an accusatory finger at Prefect Trellawney. Thinking quickly she cast "Accio!" as the summoned cup flew to her hand. She hastily filled it with water and rushed over to the Professor as she offered it gingerly "Ma'am take this, its just water." she said.

Cela had been there when the Slytherin prefect had given the professor the tea, and she had been sure that it was just tea.



Celandine wanted to jump up and help too, but Steelsheen was faster.
"Professor do you need me to get the nurse?" her eyes widened in concern as a professor she genuinely liked was clearly suffering. She wondered if there was any sign of this happening in the professors teacup.

Sabrina shrugged, one point was better then none, especially since she'd earned lots of points this lesson anyways. She was getting concerned though about the Professor's coughs and when she mentioned poison she looked shocked. "Professor do you want me to go and get someone?" she asked, thinking about the potions professor or the matron.

Cassandra beamed at the professor. She loved Divination... her very favorite class.

WHAT?!?!?!

"Det... Det... Professor... I don't understand..." Did she just give her detention?!? Impossible, she did NOTHING wrong! "I didn't slip you any type of potion..." What was this about? "Can I help you? Can I get the nurse?"

WHY?!?!